Next up.... Joe who?

If you need further evidence that the Montreal Impact are in uncharted international waters, just look at their next opponents in the CONCACAF champions league.

Their reward for winning the Canadian championship and then beating Real Esteli is a place in Group C of the league. First up in this tough-looking group is Joe Public of Trinidad and Tobago.

Joe Public – surely the oddest name for a sports team since the Anaheim Mighty Ducks – shocked the New England Revolution of the MLS 4-0 last night for a 6-1 aggregate victory.

They’ll be at the Saputo stadium on September 17, the first in a six-game round robin that also includes Atlante FC of Mexico) and Olympia from Honduras. After their performance against New England, no-one will be treating Joe Public as a joke. But if the Impact prevails against them, it will strengthen the case for promotion to the MLS.

Joe Public is owned by FIFA vice president and CONCACAF president Jack Warner. Doesn’t anyone find it odd that the head of CONCACAF owns a team in its local club tournament?

The most cursory web search will tell you that Warner is no stranger to controversy, but he manages to survive in the labyrinthine web of connections that seems to be the way FIFA works.

Joe Public isn’t the only problem facing the Impact. Their champions league success is already playing havoc with their schedule. Adding at least six more games, including three considerable road trips, is not going to be easy.

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